Thursday, June 9, 2016

History: The Year is 1804

The Haitian Massacre and Ethnic Cleansing -- Haiti wins its independence and begins a bloodbath. I talk about the Bosnian, Yugoslavian mass murders of the 1990s.

The Philadelphia is Burning -- The USS Philadelphia has been captured by the Barbary pirates so Lieutenant Stephan Decatur sets it ablaze. I talk about the conflict between the USA and the Middle East.

In Other News -- Burr shoots Hamilton. Lewis and Clarke set out to discover what Thomas Jefferson just bought.

The Haitian Massacre and Ethnic Cleansing

French citizens are being systematically slaughtered after a long and
successful slave revolt has freed Haiti from French oppression. A few
years ago, Emperor Napoleon had re-instituted slavery in France's West
Indies holdings which led to a revolt and the establishment of the free
republic of Haiti beginning this year. The first fruits of the new
republic leave a bitter taste. Emperor Jacques the 1st of Haiti,
Governor-for-life and founder of the Haitian republic, has decreed that
all French loyalists will be put to the sword. Over 3,000 men, women and
children are slaughtered. The Governor-for-life reasons that if the
Republic is to have a chance at survival, it must remove the elements of
society that still remember the old system. What such reformers fail to
realize is that they, themselves, still remember the old system.
Emperor Jacques, Governor-for-life, will be assassinated within two
years. A monument will mark the spot. In the modern day, the memory of
Emperor Jacques's ill-considered mass murders will be gently set aside
in favor of his efforts to free Haiti.
[1][2][3]

My Take by Alex ShruggedThe
phrase "Ethnic Cleansing" came into use in the 1990s during the
Yugoslav Wars which included the Bosnian War and Kosovo War. Yugoslavia
was created after World War 2 as a confederation of smaller ethnic
states. They managed to stay united under the strong-arm tactics of
President-for-Life Tito (TEE-tow). However, after Tito died,
Yugoslavia broke apart as each state declared its independence, but
others wanted to stay together. Then people started shooting, women were
raped and the whole mess devolved into what was called "ethnic
cleaning" as if they were just mopping up a spill on aisle 9. In fact,
it consisted of rape, forced evacuations and mass murder. US citizens
shouted, "We have to DO SOMETHING!" President Bill Clinton said that he
would solve the problem. It would be a quick war. He sent US aircraft on
bombing raids. A downed US pilot evaded patrols and survived on rain
water and bugs until he got home. In the end, 140,000 people died. Mass
graves were discovered and something akin to the Nuremberg trials began.
One fellow got 40 years in prison. Another died of a heart attack while
on trial. It wasn't enough, but if we gave mass murderers all that they
deserved, what would become of us? So we render what justice we can and
hope that there is a special Hell for people like that. [4][5][6]

The Philadelphia is Burning

The 1st Barbary War has been a minimalist effort by Thomas Jefferson
to avoid foreign entanglements while protecting US shipping in the
Mediterranean from the Barbary Pirates. Last year the frigate USS Philadelphia
was sent as part of the blockade of the port of Tripoli. Unfortunately
she hit an uncharted reef and was captured along with her crew of 305.
This has become an embarrassment, so the USS Intrepid is fitted
with sails to look like a local merchant ship and glides into Tripoli
Harbor at night declaring an emergency after being damaged in a storm.
(Yes. They have someone who speaks Arabic.) Before the light of dawn,
Lieutenant Stephan Decatur and several Marines board the Philadelphia in an attempt to retake her or if that fails to set her aflame. Within 10 minutes, the Philadelphia is theirs, but it is severely damaged and cannot be towed. Decatur and his men set several fires and abandon ship. The Philadelphia starts to drift. It's cannons, loaded with shot, are so hot that they fire into the town. Everyone is awake now. The Intrepid escapes to sea as its sister ship, Syren, lays down cover fire. It is a bold action, praised by all except those in Tripoli. Lieutenant Decatur is a national hero. [7][8]

My Take by Alex ShruggedIf you ever wondered how the conflict between the United States and the Middle East ever got started, it goes back to 1776
when America declared its independence. Great Britain stopped paying
tribute to the pirates for American shipping. The pirates interdicted
American shipping, taking cargo and captives, making them into slaves.
White women were especially treasured as concubines and fetched a good
price. The USA started paying tribute, but it became such a large part
of the budget that it was cheaper (and more manly) to build a whole navy
to fight the pirates. In fact, one of the reasons for establishing a
Constitution was to collect money to build a navy so that America could
go over there and kick their backsides. Thomas Jefferson wanted to
minimize that effort to save money and pay down the debt. If you follow
Thomas Jefferson closely you find that his actions and his principles
are often in conflict. He is not a fool. He knows reality, but at times
he finds himself straddling two mules going in opposite directions. [9]

In Other News

Aaron Burr kills Alexander Hamilton in a duel.
Burr is investigated but not charged with a crime. His political career
is dead though. Both of them were too dangerous for the United State's
long-term stability, but neither deserved to die... at least at that
point, but they were working on it. [10][11]

The Lewis and Clarke Expedition sets out on its epic journey. After buying half a continent, Thomas Jefferson figured he had better find out what he had bought. [12]